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Winter time, and water is cold

1K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  TaylorW 
#1 ·
Hey, i just got my fish the other day, and hes in a 3 gallon tank with little color LCD lights and the temp is 68-70 and its pretty cold.. My house is around 72 but i dont have a heater or a light i can put near it. So what should i do??
I am getting a 3 gallon tank in 2 weeks with a BIG light over the tank but right now i just have a candle near it so it gets a little warmer :(

Help.
 
#2 · (Edited)
The best thing to do is to buy him a heater, that's really the only thing to get the water how it should be, which should be around 78-80. To buy immediately you can get like a marineland stealth heater at like petco and petsmart, but they can run pretty pricey and even the cheapest heaters at pet stores arn't any less then like 18 bucks. Don't get preset! The cheapest and nicest heater I know of, and the one's I use and so far work well, are Hydor heaters and you can buy them on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydor-Theo-Sh...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1289013543&sr=8-1

If you click the "two new" button, you can get one for 11.49 and like six dollar shipping. I got mine in three days after ordering, so the shop Amazon uses to get it ships very quickly. Make sure you buy a thermometer as well to keep an eye on the water temp when you have the heater. To keep him warm till then, well to maybe at least cut the chill from the water, I would suggest finding the warmest room in the house, bundling the tank in a blanket (put it on a blanket then wrap it around so it's covered all around) and make sure if you have the heat running in your house put him close to the vent, but not directly under it. If you still have the air running, then I would suggest closing the vent. If you have a space heater, I would use that too. 70 is very cold for a Betta : ( But that is only a very temporary fix, and it probably won't raise the water temp more then like a degree or two if that, but it's better then nothing, but you really do need a heater.
 
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#3 ·
I agree with eclover09 that you need a heater for your little betta. Even though your new tank might have a big light, that won't be enough to warm up the water. eclover is also right about not getting preset heaters as the temperature they heat the water up to is dependent on room temperature. it's even more important to have a decent heater for a tank as small as yours since small water volumes are more susceptible to temperature fluctuations and can change temperature relatively quickly. these temperature fluctuations can stress and in extreme cases, even kill your fish.
 
#4 ·
You really need a heater, but if you have an electric heating pad they work well temporarily. You just have to check the temp of the water often and make sure that it's not getting too hot. I used one and sat my kritter keepers on it and it warmed the water without a problem. :]
 
#5 ·
Make sure you get a 25 watt heater if your betta is in a small tank! Don't want to cook the little guy :p

+1 for eclover! Very good advice :) And the heating pad is a good idea as well! :)
 
#6 ·
Okay, thank you. I have been using a heating pad and the water is around 73-78 but its a lot warmer then yesterday when i saw it as low as 68/ So i am buying a new tank this week and it comes with a nice big light in it that should heat the tank but i may just buy a heater anyways, bc we do keep it pretty cold in our house.. So the best heater is a hydro heater.?
 
#7 ·
Just get a regular adjustable submersible. A light will NOT heat the tank. It'll heat for a little but what happens when it's off? Constantly changing temps will stress your fish.
 
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